FEW LEFT: The GOP has tried to spin high-profile resignations, including those of Rhode Island congressman Patrick Kennedy(left) and Indiana senator Evan Bayh, as a symptom of an impending Republican take-over.

Last Thursday, Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island — the last of his legendary clan in Congress — announced that he will not run for re-election. Four days later, Indiana's Evan Bayh revealed his own intention to retire from the US Senate. Any day now, we should get a decision from South Shore congressman Bill Delahunt, who has done nothing to tamp down growing rumors that he, too, is calling an end to his career.

It's been only four weeks since Scott Brown turned the political world upside-down by winning the Senate seat controlled by the Kennedy family for more than a half-century, and already another story line has taken hold: terrified Democrats fleeing from office, rather than seeking re-election.

The question doesn't seem to be whether there will be more retirements announced, but who will be next. The rumor list is too long to recount. A single, speculative blog post on Monday put the nation's political media on a death watch for Maryland senator Barbara Mikulski.

So far, 11 sitting US senators — five Democrats, but also six Republicans — have announced that they will not run for re-election in November. So have 32 House members (13 Democrats and 19 Republicans), and seven governors (three Democrats and four Republicans).

While these are not record-breaking numbers, they are high for a year without an obvious retirement-driving force — such as redistricting, which usually prompts many congressmen to abandon hope of winning their re-drawn districts; or a change in party control of a chamber, such as the 2006 Democratic takeover of the House and Senate, which drove many Republicans to leave office as they discovered that life in the minority is not as much fun.

The GOP would like to spin this year's high-profile flights from office as a case of Democrats running scared of a Republican wave, but that explanation doesn't fly — there are as many Republicans leaving office as Democrats, and incumbents like Bayh and Kennedy had little fear of losing in November.

No, there is no single explanation for what's happening. But there is something going on.

We are in the midst of a highly volatile political atmosphere, steeped in the brutal power politics of the GOP and stirred up by economic distress.

Since the early 1990s, Republicans have been following a scorched-earth policy, and have stepped up their game with renewed fury since losing power in the 2006 and 2008 elections. GOP leadership believes that their party — having so few incumbents — will benefit most from a national throw-the-bums-out election. As a result, they are determined to grind the gears of government to a halt.

High turnoverIn ordinary times, Americans probably wouldn't care much that Washington is stuck, if they even noticed at all. But in a time of deep recession, people turn their eyes to their government leaders. Voters who were never exactly big fans of Washington have devolved into angry, protesting screamers: congressional town-hall meetings have become venues for venomous outbursts; many members will no longer hold them. Elected officials have found themselves hung in effigy, and had their offices broken into. Both sides are constantly insulted and mocked by the opposing media.

Elephant in the Room Platoons of state Republicans, energized by Scott Brown's stunning victory over Democrat Martha Coakley last week, are setting their sights on November.

New and improved Romney Scott Brown's unexpected victory in last month's special US Senate election captured the attention of the country — and particularly of core Republican voters, who huddled eagerly before their TV screens to watch their hero du jour give his acceptance speech. But even in the midst of his moment in the sun, Brown made sure to thank the other handsome, well-coifed man on the stage, Mitt Romney.

'Tea' is for terrorism A year ago, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) produced a memo outlining the growing threat posed to this country from right-wing extremists. It compared the situation to that of the early 1990s — which culminated in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168.

Tyme fer moore lernin’ Much sport has been made of the hilariously misspelled signs created and proudly displayed at rallies by barely literate Tea Partiers.

The powerless rise I’m an even-tempered guy. I don’t lose my cool more than, maybe, once or twice a day.

Mickey Mouse Multiculturalism Massachusetts treasurer and independent candidate for governor Tim Cahill was off base when he accused incumbent governor Deval Patrick of "playing politics with terrorism" in the wake of Patrick's visit to the controversial Roxbury mosque maintained by the Islamic Society of Boston.

Heck of a Guy Scott Brown’s stunning victory in January’s special US Senate election continues to reverberate through Massachusetts politics.

Instead of cuts: guts Let’s assume, reader, that you’re concerned about economic and social justice. For those in real need — people who are poor, sick, old, mentally ill, addicted, disabled — you want decent care. You’re concerned, too, about proper funding of schools, community colleges, and university campuses.

Mean everything to nothing My favorite movie-advertising phrase is "based on a true story." Translated into English, it means: "more or less, a big fat lie."

The next Scott Brown? Republican Scott Brown's victory last month in the race for the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat has every two-bit GOP hopeful in the Northeast claiming the mantle of the pick-up truck populist.

MRS. WARREN GOES TO WASHINGTON | March 21, 2013 Elizabeth Warren was the only senator on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, aside from the chair and ranking minority, to show up at last Thursday's hearing on indexing the minimum wage to inflation.

MARCH MADNESS | March 12, 2013 It's no surprise that the coming weekend's Saint Patrick's Day celebrations have become politically charged, given the extraordinary convergence of electoral events visiting South Boston.

LABOR'S LOVE LOST | March 08, 2013 Steve Lynch is winning back much of the union support that left him in 2009.

AFTER MARKEY, GET SET, GO | February 20, 2013 It's a matter of political decorum: when an officeholder is running for higher office, you wait until the election has been won before publicly coveting the resulting vacancy.